Familiar Strangers
by DwaejiTokki
Summary: Miroku and Sango wake up in a forest together with no recollection of their past lives. They decide to piece together the clues of who they are, but not everything is so simple, especially when InuYasha shows up. (One-shot)


Familiar Strangers

**Summary**: Miroku and Sango wake up in a forest together with no recollection of their past lives. They decide to piece together the clues of who they are, but not everything is so simple, especially when InuYasha shows up.

**Rating**: T, because Miroku and InuYasha are grown ass men and will do what they do.

**Disclaimer**: I do not, have not, and never will own InuYasha and / or anything to do with it. *cries gently*

The sunlight was bothering him, but even so he didn't want to wake up. But the light was too persistent, and even if he moved it stayed directly on his face. So he had to open his eyes and look around...But where was he? Why was he in a forest? And who was that woman sleeping beside him? He wanted to reach out and touch her, but he wasn't sure if that was a good idea. Was she even real? Was he dreaming?

As he was thinking this, the woman muttered something in her sleep, then her soft eyelashes fluttered and she woke as he did, brown eyes looking around. After a moment, they met his deep blue ones, and a confused expression crossed her face.

"Who are you?" she asked slowly, sitting up.

"I could ask the same of you," he replied, now feeling a bit concerned. He bit his lip. "Do you know this place?"

She looked around cautiously. "No, I don't," she replied. Then she eyed his clothing. "You are a monk?"

He blinked and creased his brow. Then it came to him. "Yes...Yes, I think so."

"You think?" she asked, a bit alarmed. "Um, houshi-sama...I can't remember anything."

"I find myself in the same position, dear lady," he replied. "Can you remember anything about yourself? A name? Family? Home?"

"Sa...n..." she said uncertainly. Then her face lit up. "Sango," she said. "My name is Sango."

"Very good, Lady Sango," he said. "Hm. I believe I am called...Mi...roku. Miroku, yes." Miroku nodded as though confirming it to himself. "Now to address more important matters. Who are we to one another, and how and why are we here in this place?"

Sango bit her lip, and then noticed her bag. "I'm a traveler," she stated, grabbing it and going through it. "Yes, these are my things, I know it."

"Traveling alone?" Miroku frowned. "That's dangerous, Lady Sango."

She looked at him pointedly. "Well, if you're here, perhaps we are traveling together."

He blinked and then sat back with a thoughtful expression. "Yes, I suppose that is a possibility. But it somehow doesn't feel right. I think there is something more to it...Where are you traveling to?"

"I...don't know. I think there was somewhere important I had to go."

"Yes, I feel the same. Yet I cannot seem to recall anything but my name and profession." He looked around. "I don't feel any demonic presences. So I doubt they are to blame for this quandary. Shall we find our way out of here, and perhaps we may encounter someone we know, Lady Sango?"

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea, Houshi-sama," Sango agreed, standing with him. For a moment she wobbled unsteadily, and Miroku reached out and caught her with an alarmed expression. Sango looked at the wrapped baggage on her back. "This is so heavy!" she gasped. "What is it?" Then she suddenly shook her head. "No, I know this...It's Hiraikotsu...my weapon?"

"Weapon?" Miroku repeated. "Are you a miko, Lady Sango? But I don't think you are, in this clothing style."

"No, I am not a miko," she replied. She uncertainly looked down at Miroku's hand, which was still on her shoulder. "Um, forgive me for saying this, but perhaps we are more than fellow travelers?"

Miroku withdrew his hand, flushing a little. "I have a vague feeling like that, yes."

Sango blushed and lowered her gaze. "Um, shall we go now?"

"Yes, yes."

Without another word, the two set out along the path that was clearly visible through the trees. Birds chirped around them, and insects chattered incessantly. All in all, it was very peaceful, and they had no reason to believe they had been attacked. But then, they could have been deposited in the forest, or the evil presence could have left. There was really no knowing for sure. For a long time they walked silently, lost in their own thoughts. The sun rose higher in the blue sky, beating down on their shoulders.

Finally Miroku spoke, "I see something ahead."

Sango raised her eyes from the ground and looked to where he pointed. There was indeed something, but she couldn't quite make it out. It looked like some kind of animal, but it was collapsed on the side of the trail. Perhaps it was dead. But as they neared, a nagging sense that something was wrong pulled at their stomachs, and they mutually came to stop.

Miroku tightened his grip on his shakujou, staring intently at the lump. Sango reached back and took hold of Hiraikotsu, narrowing her eyes.

It suddenly moved, as though waking from a deep slumber. It snorted and rose to its feet, revealing that it was a huge boar demon-perhaps the biggest either of them had ever seen.

"Get behind me, Lady Sango," Miroku said, raising his shakujou as a weapon.

But she ignored him and ran past him, much to his surprise. Sango pulled Hiraikotsu free from its binding and swung it hard, striking the boar demon's legs. It howled in agony and anger as it fell with a loud crash, but scrabbled back up to its feet. Miroku caught up with her as she caught her returning weapon.

As she prepared to throw it again, the beast charged them, and Miroku threw a few sutra at it. The strips of warded paper struck the demon, and it recoiled with an unearthly snarl. Sango seized her chance to use Hiraikotsu, and the boar demon was once more knocked to the ground, where it lay dazed. Miroku instinctively raised his right hand and removed the prayer beads, fist closed tightly. But just before he could open his hand, a strong hoof kicked him aside, and he collided heavily with a tree.

"Houshi-sama!" cried Sango, rushing to his aid. When she reached him, she cursed her mistake. The boar was bearing down on them, and all she could do was brace for impact. The monk raised his shakujou in a futile attempt to protect them both.

"SANKON TESSOU!" screamed a sudden voice.

Suddenly the boar demon was in pieces, huge chunks of bloody meat falling to the ground around Sango and Miroku. They stared in surprise, then looked up to see the figure standing over them.

"Geez!" he snapped, his long silver hair and red robe caught in the breeze. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Do we..." Sango said slowly, "know you?"

"Eh?" InuYasha made a face. Then he looked angry again. "What the hell kind of joke are you trying to pull? Of course you know me! Now can we get back on track since your stupid demon is dead?" He kicked a chunk of flesh with his bare foot.

Miroku and Sango, both still in close proximity to one another, exchanged a glance.

"If you know us," Miroku said suspiciously, "tell us our names."

InuYasha's eye twitched. "Oi...I thought we were done playing this game already."

Miroku frowned. "It is no game, hanyou. We both have no recollection of our past lives, but for our names. If you know us, tell us who we are and why we should trust you." As he spoke, he removed a pair of sutras from his robe.

InuYasha stared at them for a long moment, golden eyes flicking from Sango to Miroku and back again. Then he harrumphed and folded his arms. "Idiots. Miroku and Sango, the perverted monk and the demon slayer. Bet you two ran into some biiig trouble, didn't you?" He looked down his nose at them, obviously annoyed.

"Per...perverted monk?" Miroku asked, pointing at himself with an offended expression.

"Great," InuYasha muttered, rolling his eyes. "How the hell did you guys get into this mess?" Then he blinked and suddenly looked at them sharply. "Where are Shippo and Kirara?"

"Who?" they asked in unison.

"Agh!" InuYasha groaned loudly. "Just great. Kagome's gonna sit me." He knelt down and began to sniff the ground, crawling around as he searched for the scent of the two missing little ones.

"Um, who is Kagome?" Sango asked, watching him with interest.

"Shaddup," he replied, sitting back on his haunches. He scratched the back of his head in frustration and looked at them sourly. "Where did you wake up? Take me there."

"You, hanyou," Miroku said, standing, "should speak with more respect. Don't forget that I am a monk, I can easily destroy you."

"Ha!" InuYasha gave a short bark of mirthless laughter. "You couldn't even handle a weak boar demon."

Miroku scowled at that. Then haughtily took the lead. How dare this impugnable halfling order him, a respected monk, around, and even insult him! The hanyou was lucky Miroku was such a calm character, or he would have been done away with from the moment Miroku laid eyes on him. By the time he had finished with his inner raging, they had reached the spot where he and Sango had woken.

InuYasha, upon learning that this was the place, kneeled down once more to sniff around. "Shippo and Kirara were here with you," he said. Then he sniffed around the area. "Dammit. Whatever grabbed them must have flown away, 'cause I can't catch their scents."

"Who are Kirara and Shippo?" Sango asked, bending over little with her hands on her knees.

InuYasha looked at her incredulously. "You don't even remember your own pet?"

She blinked at him and looked a bit worried. "My pet?"

"Keh," InuYasha scoffed. "That's it. I'm taking you weaklings to Kaede and bringing Kagome here. Maybe some demon took your memories or something." He stood up and began to walk, then looked back at them thoughtfully.

"What?" Miroku asked.

"It'll take too long to walk," he answered. "Come here." Before the two humans could protest, InuYasha had grabbed them both around the waist and leapt into the air, landing nimbly on the branch of a tree.

"Unhand me, hanyou!" Miroku cried, as Sango merely gasped in surprise at the sudden sensation.

"Stop squirming, pervert monk!" InuYasha grunted, struggling to keep Miroku in his arm. They were pretty high up, after all.

"Never!"

InuYasha scowled and released him, allowing the monk to fall to the ground hard.

"Ouch!"

"Serves you right, bastard," the dog demon muttered, glaring down at him.

It took a long while for InuYasha to convince them to relax and let him take them to Kaede, for they still did not fully trust him. They argued that although InuYasha seemed to know them, they didn't know him at all. It stood to reason that he could be lying. It took all an exasperated InuYasha had to hold himself back from clonking the two of them over the head. But eventually they conceded, under the condition that if he did anything suspicious Miroku would have sutras ready.

When they arrived at the old miko Kaede's house, she came out to greet them.

"You must be Kaede," Sango said to her.

Kaede blinked at her with her good eye, quite surprised. "Yes, of course I am. Did something happen?"

"They lost their memories," InuYasha announced loudly, folding his arms and looking very irritated.

"How?" she asked, squinting at the pair, who looked back cluelessly.

"Don't know," InuYasha said. "I'm going to get Kagome. Keep them out of trouble, ya old hag." With that, he darted off into the woods where the well was.

"Hm," Kaede frowned gruffly. "Well, come in then. Make yourselves comfortable."

Miroku and Sango followed her politely into her house, removing their shoes at the door as was custom. "Thank you, Kaede-sama," they said.

"So," she said once they were settled by the fire, over which she was boiling water for a stew, "what is the most-or least-you can remember?"

"My name," Sango replied. "And that I'm traveling, but that was a guess since I have this bag. I also know that I am a demon slayer, thanks to InuYasha. Oh, and I have a pet, who seems to be missing."

"I remember my name as well," Miroku said. "And, according to that hanyou, I am a perverted monk. But I know that must not be true." He nodded confidently.

Kaede made a noise in her throat, studying the pair emotionlessly. "Well, I suppose I can fill you in as much as possible. Perhaps that will jog your memories."

"A good idea," Miroku agreed.

"You are both," Kaede said, "on a quest with that hanyou, and Kagome, a young miko from the future. With you is a small fox demon named Shippo, and a cat demon who is your companion, Sango. All of you are searching for the Shikon no Tama shards, as is Naraku, the demon you are trying to defeat...Any of this ring a bell?"

Miroku and Sango exchanged a look. Then they shook their heads.

She sighed, and was about to continue with as much information as she could offer, but was interrupted by distant screams: "Osuwari!" cried a female voice, quickly followed by a male's "Bwah!"

"That would be Kagome and InuYasha," Kaede said calmly. "Would you like some tea?"

"Uh, no thank you, Kaede-sama," Miroku declined politely with a charming smile.

Sango quietly accepted some, only to have something to do with her hands.

A strangely dressed girl suddenly burst into the room, slipping out of her loafers. "Kaede-sama," she said breathlessly. "I'm here, what's the emergency?" Sango and Miroku eyed her school uniform, particularly the short skirt. Was that what mikos wore in the future?

"Oh, no emergency," Kaede said. "Well, unless Miroku and Sango's loss of memory and the disappearances of Shippo and Kirara are emergencies."

"What!" Kagome exclaimed. She turned to them. "You can't remember anything at all?"

They shook their heads mutely.

"I tried to tell you!" growled an indignant InuYasha as he appeared behind her. "You never-"

"Sit, boy!"

"Bwah!" InuYasha suddenly slammed face-first to the ground, and was unable to rise for a long moment.

Sango and Miroku stared in alarm. This miko was powerful, for sure. A simple word could restrain a strong hanyou!

"Shippo and Kirara are missing, you said?" Kagome said, all business. When she received a nod, she turned to InuYasha. "We have to go find them."

He raised his head and glared at her. "What about them?"

Kagome looked at the amnesiac pair, and then turned to Kaede. "Will you watch over them until we get back? Once we find Kirara and Shippo, we might find whatever did this to them, and then figure out to reverse it."

Kaede nodded, and Kagome quickly bid farewell to them. She and InuYasha, who had finally managed to recover, rushed out and disappeared into the night.

"Well," Kaede said. "I suppose we'll have a bit of supper, and then we should rest. You must be tired, right?"

They nodded in reply, not much up for conversation. They were still trying to take everything in. They couldn't imagine doing what Kaede said they did, traveling with such a group and doing such dangerous things. They felt lost, and their only comfort was each other. Throughout the dinner, they remained quiet, and Kaede was content to let them be. The three bid one another good night and went to lie down, but only one of them slept that night.

Morning arrived, and Miroku and Sango were no closer to remembering.

By midday, however, good news came. InuYasha and Kagome returned with Kirara and Shippo in tow. The hanyou looked very sour, as usual, and held a struggling Shippo by the scruff. Kirara was held securely in Kagome's arms, though she didn't try to escape. Upon seeing her master, Kirara leapt from Kagome's arms and rushed to her.

"Hey," Sango greeted, petting Kirara. "I know you...I think."

Kaede stood. "So, what have we discovered?"

"Keh!" InuYasha tossed Shippo front and center, and the little demon stopped struggling.

Then tears filled his eyes and he began to wail. "I'm, I'm sorry! It was an accident, Miroku, Sango!"

"Huh?" Sango uttered.

Miroku looked at him with interest, then extended his shakujou and poked the fox demon. "You're a lot smaller than I expected."

"Tell them what happened, Shippo," Kagome said gently. "They'll understand."

Shippo sniffled and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "Kirara and I were playing around," he began. "And then I used some fox magic, but then something went wrong, and you two were knocked out! So Kirara and I went to get help, but we were pretty far away from a village, and no one would listen to us, so no one would come and help!"

Miroku looked thoughtful.

Sango looked sympathetic. "It's all right, Shippo," she said kindly. "You didn't mean it. Is it possible for you to reverse whatever you did? I'd like to remember everything."

At this Shippo sobbed harder than ever. "I don't know what I did! I don't know how to reverse it. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Kagome moved forward and swept the tiny demon in her arms.

Kaede frowned. "Hmm. It seems that we'll have to find another way."

Without warning, there was a loud bang somewhere in the village, followed by panicked screams. Kaede leapt to her feet, nimble even in old age, and grabbed her bow on the way out. The rest of the gang were at her heels.

A huge demon was attacking the village, gleefully chomping on anything in its path. Kaede cursed under breath. "It came out of nowhere!" she said. "But it is necessary for the plot of this story to progress, so we will not question this event and simply attack it!"

Kagome and the old miko both drew their arrows and aimed for the creature. They hit their marks: the demon's ribs.

It squealed in pain, but otherwise the arrows had no affect.

"Keh," InuYasha smirked. He held up his hand, and his claws extended considerably. "My turn. Sankon tessou!" He leapt at the demon and slashed it.

It bellowed, its terrible wounds gaping. Black blood spilled forth from them, but then the wounds began to heal at a remarkable rate.

"Huh?"

Miroku threw several sutras at it to hold it at bay, and Sango threw her Hiraikotsu, which took off a leg. "Houshi-sama!" she said. He stabbed the butt of his shakujou into the ground so it stood on its own, and quickly removed the prayer beads from his hand. All of the villagers were evacuated, so it was safe enough to use it.

"Kazaana!" he uttered, extending his hand and bracing it with his other. The hole on his palm opened, and the vacuum began to pull the wretched demon toward it. It struggled futilely before it disappeared into the abyss, and Miroku covered the wind tunnel once more. The beast was gone, and the village was safe.

"Good job, Houshi-sama," Sango complimented, replacing her Hiraikotsu onto her back. She stood next to him, feeling quite warm in his presence.

"Thank you, Lady Sango," he replied cordially.

She smiled, but then suddenly her features changed. "Urk," she made a noise in her throat. Miroku beside her was completely oblivious to it, looking quite at peace.

Sango growled angrily and struck him across the face open-handedly. "You perverted monk!"

Miroku removed his hand from her rear, the red hand print on his cheek stinging. "But Sango," he protested.

Sango merely fumed and stormed away from him. "Come on, Kirara."

"Sango, where are you going?" Kagome said.

"Away from this Houshi," she retorted.

Miroku scratched the back of his head and shrugged. He turned to his friends. "It seems I've remembered everything. I believe it is safe to say the same of Lady Sango."

"Well that was simple," InuYasha muttered, folding his arms.

Kagome looked relieved and happy. "So everything is back to normal again!"

Miroku's head fell to one side and tears leaked from his eyes. "Yes, and Sango is angry with me."

"But that's normal," InuYasha pointed.

Miroku hung his head in defeat. "I suppose it is..."

END.

**A/N:** This was a lot of fun to write, even though it's short and not very good at all. Thanks for reading, and I hope you don't hate it! ^-^


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